Vehicle door lock



March 18 1924. 1,486,998

W. R. WILEY VEHICLE DOOR LOCK Filed Oct. 26. 1921 1 a I I ATTORNEY.

in the direction of the Patented Mar. 18, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM R. WILEY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

VEHICLE noon LOCK.

Application filed October 26, 1921. Serial No. 510,575.

To all whom/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. WILEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and use- J ings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to vehicle door locks, and has for its object an improved organization of parts, adapted to render more secure and reliable the shutting of a vehicle door without undue slamming, and at the same time to automatically adjust itself to, and compensate for, the warping and distortion of the vehicle frame, with the conse quent variations in the position of the door sash and its contained lock relatively to the door frame, considered as a part of the frame of the vehicle.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a sectional elevational view of the lock in place relatively to the keeper and the frame whichsupportsit. V

Figure 2 is a sectional plan view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and looking arrows there shown.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view on a smaller scale of the lock in position relatively to the door and to the frame.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the forward end of the latch piece, removed from the shell of the lock.

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the forward endof the latch piece.

A represents the door frame arid B the door, whose meeting edges are preferably beveled as well as somewhat separated, the space between them being often covered as regards the outer face of the door by means of the overlappin of the metal trim C. In the face of the o lique or beveled edge of the frame A is inserted the metal "keeper piece D, which at its inner end .is formed with a V-shaped or trough-'likerecess E, into which the tapered end of the locking bolt G is adapted to engage, being constantly projected as far/ thereinto as. possible by means of the s rings J and L, whose rear ends rest in slightly indented or recessed portions of the shell H of the lock. So long as the door and its frame maintain their and horizontally,

" face of the keeper into which relative position unaltered, thatis, so lon as no warping takes place, the lar e bolt will be projected straight forwar that is, acted upon'equally by each of the springs and L, so that its tapered and outer end engages accurately'in the vertical grooving F of the keeper, with equal pressure upon the two areas of contact V and W, on either side of the central axial line of the latch piece as a whole, thus serving to anchor the door against vertical working relatively to the frame. As will be observed from an examination of Figure 4 particularly, the

forward or engaging end of the latch has its curved forward edge portions struck from differently located centers, although with the same radius; the edge R, which, when the door is closed, lies next adjacent'the projecting point or. shoulder Q, of the keeper, has its peripheral line advanced perhaps a quarter'inch ahead of the peripheral edge of the face T, though both are struck with the same radius length; the sloping or beveled surface uniting the two is preferably set at about a 45 angle'to the plane of the lock as a whole, and in it are located the two bearing areas V andVV, already referred to, separated from one another ap proximately 90, for engagement against the correspondingly sloped face of the keeper groove, while on the opposite face of the latch there is formed at the same time one centrally located bearing area, as Y, which cooperates ,with, and in opposition to, the points V and W, to constitute a threeoint, anti-rattling bearing, acting both vertically and, as regards vertical curved play, taking up variances due to either wear I or warping 1n two directions. It also functions to yieldingly oppose and-diminish the tendency to warping displacement'of the door relatively to its frame, since the surthe latch projects is a curved one, viewed elevationally like the latch end, which is uniformly spring-pressed forwardly thereagainst, so that even if distortion has taken place, one of the bearing points V or W is in active contact against the curved surface of the keeper.

The forward end of the hollowed center portion of the latch is preferably adapted to contain a lubricant pad N, the oil with which it is designed to be saturated escaping through the small holes M, which are referably located in the bearing areas V, VV and Y, so as to not only furnish the needed sup- Ely of lubricant to these faces of the late ut also permit a film of oil to be transmitted therefrom to the corresponding and oppositely. disposed surfaces of the kee er. The quantity needed and thus supplie is in reality comparatively small, and the ossibility of injury to the clothing of tl iose who enter and leave the vehicle, often rubbing against the edge of the door or of the door frame, is thus reduced to a minimum.

The latch is of course automatically actuated rearwardly and against the resilience of its spring, when the vehicle door is closed, by the engagement of its tip against the keeper. To positively unlatch the look, I provide a handle S, whose stem S engages rotatably through the shell H, and opera- .tively passes through the aperturod body ortion of the cam X, the flattened rear ihce U of which engages against the forward end of the two-piece spring-enclos- .ing shell K, which acts to yieldingly oppose the action of the cam face U when the knob is actuated; when the lock is not being actuated and the latch is in projected position, this springs pressure against the face U of the cam serves to prevent rattling of the parts. The portion of the stem S which passes through the shell H is preferably, though not indispensably, formed with the knuckle or knob projection S shown in Figure 2. And While the stem S could be extended beyond the inner face of the door for the mounting of a second handle thereon, I have illustrated in Figure 1 a pivoted lever mechanism for connection at its fulcrum Z to the lower edge of the shell H, While the handle ortion Z rises beyond its point of retracti e connection Z with the latch to the height on the door most convenient for actuation by one within the vehicle.

What I claim is:

1. In a lock, in combination with a springprojected latch member, a lubricant-containing filler for the forward end thereof, adapted to supply a film of lubricant over the engaging surfaoe-of the latch end, and a complementary keeper member having its engaging face grooved in a plurality of directions whereby said latch member when seated therein is held against undesired working either horizontally or vertically.

2. In a lock, the combination of alatch member, means for storing a supply of lubricant in its chambered outer end in a position to adequately lubricate its external surface adjacent thereto, spring means for yieldingly projecting said latch member accordneeaeae ing to the location on its forward periphery of obstruction to its projection, and a plu rally grooved keeper member adapted to be engaged by said latch member and to hold the same against undesired relative movement either horizontally or vertically.

3. A look, having, in combination with a keeper member having a tapered latch-slot as regardsthe horizontal plane and a connected confining groove located in a vertical plane, a spring-projected latch member having an outer end portion of complementary contour, and a lubricant pad contained within the outerend of said latch member in position to supply lubricant through adjacent apertures in the latch wall to the engaging surfaces of it and of the kepeer.

4. In a lock, in combination with a keeper member having an engaging face provided with latch-receiving grooves extending both.

horizontally and vertically, a spring-projected latch member having a plurality of opposingly located bearing areas, adapted to automatically adjust itself, as regards the holding engagement of said bearing areas against the faces of said grooves, regardless 0 Variations in the relative position of the door and of its frame due to warping.

5. A look, having, in combination with a grooved keeper member, a spring-projected latch member having a. plurality of oppositely disposed bearing surfaces as regards both horizontal and vertical planes of location thereof adapted to engage firmly against oppositely positioned points on the face of the keeper member when brought into engagementtherewith, means for automatically effecting lubrication of the engaging surface of said latch member, and manually actuable means for retracting the latch from engagement with the keeper.

6. In combination with a grooved keeper member, a latch member having a plurality of potential bearing points for engagement with said. keeper member, spring means for normally projecting said latch member into locking engagement with said keeper member and for automatically compensating for variations in their relative angular positions, and manually actuable means for retracting said latch member against the action of said spring means.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM R. WILEY.

Witnesses WILLIAM M. SWAN, Jnrrnnson G. THURenR. 

